California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 16,560 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 423,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,560 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.13% of WEC Energy Group worth $34,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:WEC traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.06. The company had a trading volume of 4,517,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,122,767. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $80.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.51. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $91.44. The company has a market capitalization of $27.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.41.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.